Lu Xuan walked to the tree and pushed a palm out into the air. True Energy surged from his palm, the leaves rustled, and a few more drifted down than yesterday. His strength was rising, but it wasn’t an explosive rise... it was a little bit every day, very steady.
Shen Yuyan came out carrying the porridge. "Husband, time to eat."
Lu Xuan sat down and took a sip of the porridge. "Don’t go out today."
Shen Yuyan paused for a moment, then nodded. "Mm."
She knew why. Neither of them mentioned what happened at the market, but both knew... it was best not to go out until absolutely necessary.
"Then I’ll stay home and do some embroidery," she said after a moment. "I can tidy the house again, too."
Lu Xuan glanced at her with a strange expression on his face. One needed to look around the courtyard only once to find it clean, and the house had already been tidied.
But if she wanted something to do, he wouldn’t stop her.
"All right," he said. "Just don’t tire yourself out."
After eating, Lu Xuan got dressed and walked out of the courtyard. He turned a corner and soon arrived at the gate of the escort agency.
He opened the main gate, but the escort warriors hadn’t arrived yet. He sat in the gatehouse, waiting.
Before long, footsteps approached. A young man with a round face and slightly dark skin ran over, his face beaming with a smile and always revealing that pair of little fangs when he grinned.
"Brother Xuan! Morning!"
Lin Xiaonian was an escort warrior Lu Xuan had just met yesterday.
He was young, honest, and so talkative that he could fill an entire courtyard with conversation if nobody stopped him.
"Morning," Lu Xuan said.
"Have you eaten?"
"I have."
"My dad caught a few of these outside the city yesterday. We couldn’t eat them all, so take this one."
The bird had already been plucked and cleaned, its pale skin still faintly damp. A piece of rope had been tied around its legs so that it could be carried easily.
"This..."
"Don’t be polite!" Xiao Lin said, thrusting it into his hands. "We caught plenty on the mountain. One bird won’t make any difference."
He scratched his head and grinned.
"My dad says it’s better to eat them fresh, anyway."
Xiao Lin scratching his head said, "I’m going to practice now. See you later, Brother Xuan!"
He ran off as soon as he finished speaking, afraid Lu Xuan would give it back.
Lu Xuan held the pheasant while standing at the door of the gatehouse, stunned for a moment. Then he smiled.
Having been in this world for over ten years, except for Shen Yuyan, this was the first time someone had treated him this well. It wasn’t because he was the son of the former family head, nor was it out of pity. It was simply someone being good to him, casually and without expecting anything in return.
He placed the pheasant in the gatehouse, feeling a warmth in his heart.
In the courtyard, the escort warriors arrived one after another. A dark-faced middle-aged escort warrior walked over, not even glancing at Lu Xuan, and spat, "The boss is truly senile, taking just anyone into the escort agency."
Lu Xuan recognized the man as Old Guo, one of the more experienced escort warriors. He was around forty and had a reputation for being foul-mouthed, impatient, and particularly fond of reminding younger people of their shortcomings.
Immediately after, a tall woman entered. She was around twenty years old, with a tall figure, dressed in a dark martial outfit, and had a narrow blade tucked at her waist. Her long legs were straight, her brows and eyes sharp, and she didn’t smile much.
She had never spoken to Lu Xuan, but he noticed that she would occasionally glance at him. That gaze wasn’t contemptuous like the others... rather, she seemed to be examining something.
Ye Qingyi.
According to Xiao Lin, she was the daughter of Fang Tieshan’s sworn brother and one of the agency’s strongest fighters. She had reportedly reached the sixth level of the Martial Artist Realm. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Lu Xuan lowered his head and sat in the gatehouse. Ye Qingyi glanced at him and turned to leave.
In the courtyard, the escort warriors began practicing their blades. Blade light flashed, and shouts rose one after another. Lu Xuan watched very intently.
Old Guo practiced the most vigorously, hacking at the wooden post blade by blade and making loud cracking sounds.
"What are you looking at?"
Old Guo turned his head and glared at Lu Xuan. "A piece of trash... you won’t learn even if you watch ten thousand times."
Lu Xuan didn’t speak.
"Brother Xuan, don’t mind him," Xiao Lin whispered as he came over. "Old Guo talks like that to everyone. If a tree could hear, he’d probably insult that, too."
Lu Xuan nodded.
"By the way, thank you for the bird."
"It’s nothing, Brother Xuan."
"I’ll make sure my wife cooks it properly."
Xiao Lin nodded, then hesitated as though he had suddenly remembered something.
"Speaking of your wife..." He scratched his head. "She’s the one from the Shen Family, right?"
Lu Xuan looked at him.
"I didn’t mean anything else!" Xiao Lin quickly waved his hands. "I just heard... that... your wife is good at embroidery."
"Can she teach me sometime?"
Lu Xuan looked at him. "You want to learn embroidery?"
"I... I want to embroider a pouch."
Xiao Lin scratched his head, his eyes darting toward Ye Qingyi, who was practicing her blade nearby. His face turned red in an instant.
Lu Xuan didn’t ask further. He thought to himself... this kid is done for.
Evening came. Lu Xuan closed the door and walked home.
When he returned to the courtyard, the smell of cooked vegetables drifted from the stove.
Shen Yuyan turned at the sound of the door.
"Husband, you’re back?"
"Mm."
Lu Xuan placed the pheasant on the table.
"Where did it come from?"
"A friend from the escort agency gave it to me."
Shen Yuyan paused.
A friend.
Husband had a friend?
She looked at him, suddenly feeling that he was different today. It wasn’t his martial arts, but his eyes. They had a light in them. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
"Then... shall we stew it tomorrow?"
"Alright."
Lu Xuan sat down, and Shen Yuyan served the meal. There was a bowl of porridge, a plate of green vegetables, and an egg.
She placed the egg into Lu Xuan’s bowl. "You eat it."
"Half for each."
Lu Xuan broke the egg in half and put one half into her bowl.
Shen Yuyan didn’t push it away. She lowered her head and took a small bite. The corners of her mouth curved up.
Lu Xuan looked at the tree, the moonlight shining on the leaves and making them glitter. He thought to himself... life, it seems, has really started to get better.
Meanwhile, at the Lu Family residence, Lu Hao returned from the Phoenix Pavilion in a foul mood.
The wine had left his head heavy, and the evening’s entertainment had done little to improve his temper. He pushed open the door to his room and dropped into his chair without bothering to remove his outer robe.
Then he noticed that the usual attendant wasn’t there.
"Where’s Chen Si?"
A servant standing nearby hurried forward.
"This servant hasn’t seen him today, Young Master."
"What about yesterday?"
"I... haven’t seen him since the day before, either."
Lu Hao frowned. "Go to his house and look for him."
The servant accepted the order and went out.
Half an hour later, he returned.
"Young Master, Chen Si isn’t at home. His wife says he didn’t return last night."
Lu Hao sat in his chair, holding a teacup, and smashed it on the ground.
Crash!
"Damn it, he took my silver and went to fool around again."
"When he returns, break both his legs!"
The servant trembled with fear, not daring to make a sound.
After a moment of silence, Lu Hao asked, "Any news about that trash recently?"
The servant paused. "Which trash?"
"Who else could it be?"
"Oh... he’s probably long been feeding the wolves at the old house outside the city!"
A trace of smugness appeared at the corner of Lu Hao’s mouth.
"Go to the old house another day and see if he’s dead yet..."
"Yes."